'The Dark Knight' creator Frank Miller sued by former employee

New York
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A woman filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan Supreme Court against graphic novel veteran Frank Miller and his girlfriend. Miller's girlfriend allegedly had put the former staff in a hostile working environment. When the staff complained to Miller, he fired her.

41-year-old Joanna Gallardo-Mills, who used to be a film actress in the Philippines, started working as an executive coordinator for comic book writer, 'Sin City' and 'The Dark Knight' creator Frank Miller in November 2008. According to Gallardo-Mills, it did not take long before abusive treatment developed towards her by Miller's girlfriend Kimberly Cox.

New York Post reported that according to Gallardo-Mills, Cox threw phones at her, destroyed her printer with a hammer, smeared her work area with feces, and also left a stained feminine hygiene pad by her desk. Gallardo-Mills claims that she was terminated for complaining about Cox's treatment.

Philippine native Gallardo-Mills said that Cox, who is a much younger girlfriend to Miller, made it clear that she had bias issues with her by yelling, "I can’t understand your funky accent. Speak f--king English." The lawsuit notes that Gallardo-Mills has lived in the United States for over 20 years, is fully fluent in English, and she only spoke English in her professional capacity with Miller.

Gallardo-Mills' suit states that back in July of 2010, inside Miller and Cox's living/work office space in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen district, Cox smeared human feces on Gallardo-Mills' countertop in her work area. The following year, Cox scattered all of Gallardo-Mills’ files across the floor, and destroyed her printer with a hammer. The suit also says that Cox left her filthy underwear and used menstrual pad in her work space.

High-powered employment attorney Matthew J Blit, representing Gallardo-Mills, said: "Nobody should have to work under those conditions." Gallardo-Mills is seeking unspecified money damages from Miller and Cox for discrimination and mental anguish.

"We didn’t know this was going forward because she was offered a very heavy settlement and declined," Cox said. Furthermore, she said that she was shocked by the lawsuit. Miller's rep did not return a call to comment.